February 19, 2017 #TriCitiesWx Forecast

It’s been a little cooler than expected this weekend, but we’ll have a warmer week ahead than we saw on Saturday and Sunday. In fact, some record highs might be in danger this week. Welcome to the Tri-Cities Weather Blog forecast for Sunday night through Friday!

Early this evening, temperatures ran from the mid 40’s to mid 50’s, after the official high temperature at the airport of 61. That’s 10 degrees above what we normally see as we head into late February, but it’s going to get warmer over the next five days. Here’s the outlook, with record highs noted:

Tonight-Partly cloudy, with patchy fog overnight. Low 37.

Monday-Mostly sunny after morning fog. High 72 (72, 1958).

Monday night-Partly cloudy. Low 42.

Tuesday-Partly cloudy, a small chance of rain. High 68 (73, 1963).

Wednesday-Partly cloudy with a few rain showers. Highs near 70 (79, 1978).

Thursday-Partly to mostly cloudy, scattered showers during the day. High 70 (72, 1967).

Friday-Partly cloudy, with a few rain showers. High 74 (74, 1967).

Well above normal temperatures will be the order of the day all week long. As you can see, we’ll be close to or potentially breaking record highs that have been standing longer than I’ve been alive. The best chances of broken records look to be Monday and Friday at this point.

This is the time of year, though, when record highs are a nice thing. That means in the late part of February, you can get out without wearing a jacket most afternoons this week, except in avoidance of rain. There could be scattered showers and possible thunderstorms any day this week other than Monday. However, the better chances of rain look to be likely in the latter part of the week, specifically Wednesday night through Friday.